Accidents galore across Cibola County

CIBOLA COUNTY, N.M. – Accidents across Cibola County this week kept Cibola’s emergency response teams on their toes. Grants Fire and Rescue, Cibola County Sheriff’s Office, Milan Fire Department, Cibola County Fire Command, and multiple other agencies have been working tirelessly to determine the causes of accidents and keep the public safe.

On October 8 a fatal accident on Interstate 40 outside of Laguna killed an Arizona couple.

On October 17 a vehicle accident on I-40, just outside the City of Grants near Exit 85, was caught on video footage from Grants-based businesses and looked horrific, but according to Cibola County Sheriff’s Office, was not fatal. I-40 is no stranger to accidents, especially through 2021, Sheriff Mace remarked before the autumn began that this year had a “deadly summer on the interstate.”

While responding to the accident near Exit 85, another vehicle flipped over and was found in the median when emergency response teams arrived on scene.

On October 16, there was a fatal accident outside of Ramah, N.M., on a BIA Road.

On October 18, an accident on County Road 239 saw a vehicle roll down a hill.

Oct. 8 New Mexico State Police responded to a fatal accident on Interstate 40 near milepost 111, East of Laguna, on October 8. A 2005 Ram Dodge pickup truck was slowing down for the construction west of Laguna to Mesita when a Freightliner semitruck allegedly crashed into the back of the pickup truck. Due to the construction, the pickup was pushed into a semi ahead of them; both occupants, Thomas and Vicki Bowen, were killed. NMSP said that the driver of the Freightliner was cited and an investigation to this accident is ongoing.

Oct. 17 Video footage caught

Video footage caught an accident involving multiple semitrucks near Exit 85, just outside the City of Grants. Video footage shows a slowly moving blue Amazon semitruck which was waiting for traffic to flow and move, when another semitruck barrels right through the trailer, forcing the Amazon truck into the backside of yet another semitruck. This left debris strewn across the interstate.

Bits of the semitruck which crashed into the Amazon truck were left with a dark purple, almost reddish stain on it. These stains were the result of grape jelly one of the trucks was hauling.

As of press time there were no fatalities in this accident. One victim needed to be extracted from the cab of their truck.

While this accident was being cleaned up by responding crews, a secondary accident just before Exit 89 to Skyway occurred. A black in color four door car could be seen upside down in the median. Grants Fire and Rescue said that all involved in this accident were okay and im plored drivers to pay attention to the road.

Oct. 16

According to the New Mexico State Police, around 5 p.m. officers were alerted to a motorcycle accident outside of Ramah. Officers discovered George W. McBeath, 82, of Pinehill, N.M., deceased from the accident.

McBeath had been wearing a helmet and NMSP determined alcohol was not a factor in the crash. For unknown reasons his 2011 Kawasaki motorcycle left the roadway, he sustained injuries which led to his death.

Oct. 18

Emergency teams responded to a rollover on County Road 239 and found a white SUV which had left the roadway and sustained damage. First responders found the driver of the SUV alive and in critical condition, they carried him 75 feet back up to the roadway where medical helicopter PHI 53 landed and transported the driver to a hospital where they are in stable condition, according Grants Fire and Rescue.